Restless
by taleanaomi
Summary: A thriving Empire offers Voyager safe harbor and food stores, but when some of the crew is attacked and Chakotay goes missing, Janeway finds that there is more going on beneath the surface.
1. Chapter 1

Star Trek: Voyager

Restless

Written By LockBox22

o0o

Pain. It exploded into his waking mind and he gasped, eyes snapping open. He was lying on his back and when he tried to raise his head, the room spun almost causing him to black out again. Something hard slammed against his chest and he fought to breathe.

"Keep him still!" A woman's voice snapped.

His hands felt like iron weights and he tried to push at whatever was holding him down, to get away from the pain. Strong hands grabbed his arms and wrestled them back to his sides. He fought it and managed to raise his head this time.

A dark head was bent over his lower body, hands deep in his abdomen. "What..." He tried to force his dry lips to speak.

The woman's dark eyes snapped his way, forceful and almost angry. Her tone however was cool, professional. "Unless you want further damage to your organs, I suggest you keep still."

He stopped moving and laid back down. The pain lessened slightly and the pressure on his chest was relieved. He focused on the room. It was plain, shabby, with tan walls and wooden beams across the ceiling.

"Give him more pain meds." The woman's voice said. "He'll need it."

There was a tiny prick in his shoulder and then he floated away on a cloud of lightness.

o0o

He awoke later, arms lashing out as if to rid himself of the nightmares that clung to him. His elbow hit something hard and a crash followed. He shot up in the bed, pain lancing through his lower belly. The room was different this time, smaller, more intimate.

He took stock of the situation. He was naked from the waist up, missing his comm badge, and his shoes. What he gained however was a small palm size scar across his lower abdomen. He threw back the light blanket that covered his legs, preparing to swing himself to the floor, when he saw that in addition to the scar, a light brace made of metal had been placed around his left leg.

He looked at the floor, wondering how to get down when he saw what he had hit.

A young woman lay on the floor, a tray of broken dishes nearby. He hesitated, not knowing if he should call out. He slide to the floor, mindful of his leg. His bare foot landed on the warm sand that served as the floor. He bent over the woman, checking her pulse, which was strong. She was just knocked out.

Suddenly tired, he sat down beside her and leaned against the wall. He decided that it was the drugs they had pumped into him. There was no way that he could be feeling this out of shape, not with the drills that Tuvok had been putting them through lately.

Voyager. Kathryn. He tried with a foggy mind to put together the piece of how he'd ended up on this planet. Something nagged at him, something important that he was forgetting. He gently touched his stomach and winced. How'd he ended up with that?

The woman on the floor stirred and slowly raised herself into a sitting position. She touched her lip which was bleeding from the force of his elbow. She looked up at him, dark eyes meeting his, and then scrambled backwards, away from him.

"Don't, please." He said, reaching out a hand towards him. "I won't hurt you."

She stopped and looked over at him. She touched her lip again, brushing away the blood.

"I'm sorry about your face." He apologized. "It doesn't look that bad."

She didn't answer him, her eyes were full of suspicion, and curiosity. He hoped her curiosity would enable him to connect with her. A thought occurred to him.

"I hope you can understand me." He said aloud. "My name is Chakotay." She titled her head and frowned, but there was no response.

"I have device that will enable us to communicate. It looks like this." He motioned for her to look at the sand and started to draw a picture of the comm-badge. Hopefully it hadn't been damaged or stolen while he had been unconscious.

A soft hand gently stopped his hand from continuing and he looked into her bright eyes. "I know this device of which you speak." She said softly. She let go of his hand and stood up. He tried and failed to follow suit.

She turned around from the dresser and in her hand was his comm-badge. She knelt on the sand in front of him and brushed away the half drawing he'd attempted to make. "It is better to not leave such things lying around." She told him.

He held out his hand. "May I?" He said indicating the comm-badge with a slight nod.

She refused and looked down at the device. "I have not seen such a device before. Is it military?"

"In a way, yes." He replied. "It's a communication device. My friends will want to know I'm alive. Please?" He indicated to the comm-badge again.

"Friends? In the city?" She asked.

"Sort-of. Please, I must contact them. It's important." Desperation fueled his strength and he pushed himself to his feet despite the pain. Quick as a flash, the woman also rose to her feet and pointed a weapon at him.

This one was different then the one that had almost killed him, older, cruder, but he would guess just as deadly. He realized that the world was looking like one of the old holodeck programs that Tom enjoyed and he put out a hand to steady himself.

He missed the table he was aiming for and would have went crashing to the ground if the woman hadn't grabbed him by the arm. She shoved her shoulder into his side and helped him over to the end of the bed. He sat, noticing the weapon had mysteriously disappeared. Most likely into the folds of her clothing.

"Thank you." He said as she let go of him and stepped back again.

"You need to rest for at least twenty more cycles." She told him. Her tone was more brusque then before. He had heard the Doctor use that tone on almost a daily basis. "If you insist on getting up before you are ready, it will only mean more dizzy spells." A small device appeared in her hand. "This will help you sleep."

"No, I..." She had already injected him before he finished protesting. He experienced the same lightness as last time and she firmly guided him back against the pillows where the darkness welcomed him with open arms. He succumbed to it and this time he dreamed.

o0o

The whispers in his dreams became reality as he returned to the waking world. This time everything hurt. The painkillers must have worn off. He kept his eyes closed as the people in the room continued their discussion.

"He used his given name to introduce himself." The woman he had spoken to before was speaking. "That is not usual for a member of the military. There is something not right here, Dale."

"It makes no difference." This voice was male, presumably Dale. "They are outsiders, they don't do things the way we do. He is a military officer that much is clear by the uniform he was wearing. You should have left him to die."

"His injuries would have made it a painful death." A male voice, this one younger then the other. "I couldn't leave him to suffer."

"You may have trained as a healer, Roland; but the rest of us have been fighting a war since you were a child. A soldier is a soldier, no matter where he comes from." Dale was angry.

The woman spoke again. "That is no reason to treat him like a prisoner, Dale. This is a place of healing, not a Section. My apprentice may have made an error by bringing him here but now that he is here; I can't turn him away."

The voices became softer. "Dale, you are no longer fighting with the Rebellion. Please, let us not make any rash decisions regarding our guest's future. Roland, you will in charge of our guest while he is here. Whatever we decide, he is injured; his care comes first."

"I respect your decision, Haja." Dale said, his voice softer then it had been before. "But you must be prepared to do what is necessary. If they find him here..."

There was a rustle of cloth. "I know." Her voice was so low that he had to strain to hear it. "We'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen. Roland, let us attend to your patient."

Chakotay heard them walk closer to the bed. He forced himself to lay still. A hand touched his bare shoulder and gently shook him. He opened his eyes. A young man about twenty stood over him. Chakotay sat up. He could see the woman standing in the doorway, watching them.

"Hi." He said, suddenly finding that his mouth was dry.

"My name is Roland. How do you feel?"

"Sore." He admitted. "I could use something to drink."

The man nodded. "I can imagine. You have quite a few drugs in your system." He reached for something and Chakotay realized that the tray that he had knocked to the floor earlier had been replaced. "This will help with the pain."

Chakotay started to pull away from the syringe.

"It will not make you sleep." Roland was quick to assure him. He quickly injected him and Chakotay felt the soreness and pain disappear. It was a welcome relief.

"How long was I asleep?" He asked.

The woman, Haja, was the one to answer him this time. "This time, a cycle and a half. It is just past mid-afternoon. Would you like something to eat?"

"Please." He said taking the glass of liquid that Roland held out to him. "This time?"

"You have been unconscious for almost seven cycles." Roland said. "You do not remember?"

"No." He took a drink from the cup in his hand. It was water, warmer then he was used too, but wet and wonderfully sweet. He drank half the glass before he realized that they were still watching him.

Haja turned away from them. "He is well enough for some fresh air." She said over her shoulder. "It might help him remember."

o0o

Several minutes later with Roland's help, Chakotay was attired in an earth colored tunic and pants not unlike the ones that Roland wore. Haja had worn something similar, though in a faded sky blue with the addition of a blue colored head scarf.

He looked from the brace on his leg to the doorway. "I don't think I'm going anywhere."

Roland picked up something from a dark corner of the room and held it out to him. It was a cane. Chakotay took it. "You.."

That elected a smile from the other man and he made a motion with his other hand. "This is not my first leg injury. Come."

Chakotay stood and slowly put pressure on his bad leg. There was nothing, no pain, but when he took his first step he realized his mistake. The painkillers were blocking the pain, but the leg itself had not healed yet. Roland caught his arm before he could fall to the floor in a heap.

"You must go slowly. The drugs will dull the pain, but the breaks remain."

"Breaks?" Chakotay asked as he steadied himself with the cane. He took a slow step and found that it worked. He took another, heading towards the door. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I only arrived after the riot. The doctor could tell you more about..."

"I asked you." Chakotay said quietly. He took another two steps and was at the doorway. The next room was a covered common room with table, chairs, and couches. The windows were on the roof instead of on the walls which meant that the sun shone brightly into all corners. To his left was another doorway, leading to the outside.

He headed towards the open doorway, Roland walking beside him.

"Your injuries only tell me what happened to you, not the events." Roland cautioned. His hands made another gesture. "That you must remember on your own if you want to heal."

"I think I'll just work on walking at the moment." Chakotay replied with a small grin. Roland looked confused. "Go on." Chakotay told him.

"Your kneecap is shattered as well as your lower leg. This injury is common when Security Services try to break up a riot. They break the rioter's legs to control their prisoners more effectively. You were lucky that someone forgot about you. You could have ended up in a Section. They do not give their prisoners medical attention unless the injury is life threatening."

By now they were outside. Chakotay had to shield his eyes from the intensity of the sun, but when his vision returned, he was amazed at what he saw. From the sand on the floor he had been expecting a desert. But what he saw was far from a desert.

The trees and bushes were lush and full. The pathway leading from the house through the garden was sand, but he didn't expect that there was a desert lurking beyond that path. "Is your entire state like this?"

Roland shook his head with a grin. "No." He pointed to the right. "The town is over that way. It is all desert between here and there. This is our healing garden. We've cultivated it for years." He motioned to one of the sand paths. "There is a bench a meter in that direction. The view is most pleasant."

By the time they reached the bench, Chakotay was tired. He realized that if they did decide to treat him as a prisoner, he wouldn't get too far if he tried to escape. Roland helped Chakotay sit down on the bench in the garden and then sat beside him.

"And that groggy feeling I keep having?" Chakotay asked.

"Effects of the treatments." Reba responded. "We have ways of speeding up the body's natural healing abilities. Your concussion vanished overnight, but the effects must have left you with some memory loss."

Chakotay nodded. "So I remember my life, but not the riot or how I ended up on this planet."

Roland inclined his head. Chakotay took that as a yes. "You remember that you are a visitor to our world?"

"I remember a lot of things." Chakotay replied, looking around at the flowers that bloomed from the vines around the garden. "I remember coming down to the surface, meeting someone in a red robe. There were people yelling..."

"Our Minister." Roland replied. "You met with him when you first arrived."

"How do you know that?"

Roland laughed. It was an unexpected sound. "You arrived in a starship. Everyone knows that the visitors met with the Minister. It is our custom when one comes from far away. Are the people of your world kept in the dark by soldiers like you that they do not know about a public event?"

"I'm not a solider." Chakotay corrected. "We're just trying to get home. We don't belong here."

Roland nodded in agreement. "No, you don't. But I have known men such as you my entire life. You are a soldier."

Thee two men looked up as a rustle of cloth came from the pathway. Haja stood in the sand, watching them. "Dinner is ready. Come and eat." She said before turning around and going back the way she had come.

o0o

Dinner that night was quiet. In addition to Roland, Chakotay learned that there were five other students living within the compound. All six of them were learning the healing arts from Haja. From what he gathered, it seemed that most of the women in this culture were the teachers and scientists. Maybe it was just him, but is also seemed that the men in this culture were the talkative ones.

Roland and the other two male students took up most of the conversation that evening. They tried to draw him in, but Chakotay was content just to listen to them banter and discuss that various going ons around the small town.

He watched as they made silent gestures to one another while talking and eating. One of them made a circling motion that he'd seen Roland do earlier that day.

"Why do you do that with your hands?" Chakotay asked Roland as the conversation moved on to other things.

Roland took a spoon full of his dinner. He was still smiling from the comment that the other had made. "Do what?" He asked.

Chakotay made the circling motion.

"Ah." Roland nodded. "Amusement." He responded.

Chakotay was still confused and obviously it was showing. Roland put down his utensil. "We have different motions for different thing while speaking. One indicates amusement, another grabs attention from an elder, or person of respect. We don't touch one another unless we are familiar. See?"

Chakotay nodded and resumed eating as the conversation quieted down. One of the men got up for another helping of food and it became silent. Chakotay sensed this was his opportunity.

"I was wondering if I could get my communication device back."

Haja looked up from her bowl. This was the first time all evening that she had looked his way. He wondered if she was always this distant. Chakotay felt the tension in the room. The rest of the apprentices lowered their gazes as if sensing the conflict.

"Not tonight." She said quietly. "You do not need to worry. It will be returned to you as soon as you are well."

"Look, I don't care what you have going on here. I just want to get back to my people." No one answered him. Haja went back to eating her stew. "If it's Security Services you're worried about, you can just drop me in town. I can contact my people from there. I won't tell them about you."

Haja looked up and this time put her bowl down on the table. "If Security Services ware all we had to worry about I would have contacted them when Roland first brought you here. They would have gladly return you to your people."

"I don't understand." Chakotay said.

She stood up from the table. "You do not understand because you are a visitor. You will stay here until you are well enough to make the journey into the city. You will talk to no one outside this house and you will not contact your people. This is not up for debate."

She gathered her dishes from the table and disappeared into the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

"You can't go in there!" The aide protested with a worried tone in her voice as Captain Kathryn Janeway strode through the office, Lt. Commander Tuvok behind her.

The large office was ornate in the décor and several of the crew had remarked on that as soon as they had entered the chamber several days before. But that was before two of her officers had gone missing, before they had learned of the violent protests, and of the rebel faction that controlled half of the population.

The Head Minister came to the doorway of his office and made the gesture for calm with his hands. "It is alright. Please, this way, Captain."

"Where is they?" Janeway demanded.

"They are quite safe." The minister assured her. "They were accidentally mixed up in one of the protests and escorted to a Section, our prison." He turned to include the other man in the office. "The Minister of Justice has personally gone through our records."

In comparison with the Head Minister, who was round and pampered, the newcomer was all angles and lean muscle; a soldier or former soldier as his position would suggest. The Minister of Justice stood from his chair and brought a book like device to them that Janeway had learned was their central access system.

"There are several hundred sections scattered all over our world; it was quite a chore for my staff to go through all the records, but I finally found mention of your officers in one of the southern Sections." He cleared his throat and took the "book" back. "I should warn you that the South is known to be rebel territory. When you get your officers back, I would suggest asking them to keep away from that area in the future while you are here."

"Will you also wish to question them regarding this breech of protocol?" Tuvok asked.

"Nothing so formal, Commander." The Minister of Justice replied; with the ease of a snake, Janeway thought. There was something else going on here…

"In the interest of cooperation, we would like to know what they witnessed, if anything." The Head Minister said coming back into the conversation. "You know of our problems with those in the south, the violence."

"We are aware of the difficulties you are having." Janeway replied. "At the moment, all I want to do is to make sure my people are safe. Any questions you may have, will have to wait until that is accomplished."

The Head Minister bobbed his head and made the sign for apology. "Of course. Minister?"

"I have a transport to take you to the Section." The Minister of Justice said. He also made the sign for apology. "Please excuse me. I will not be taking the trip. I have urgent matters that call for my attention."

"Of course." Janeway said.

"The Warden will meet you at the prison." The Minister of Justice. "You have full access to the Section."

"Thank you, Minister."

o0o

The ride to the Southern States where the Section was located took over thirty minutes by Earth standard time and every single minute, Janeway was growing more and more convinced that something was wrong. They had been discouraged from searching for Chakotay and Tom for the six days that they had been missing and the Minister of Justice was hiding something, she was sure of it.

"Captain?"

Janeway pulled herself out of her thoughts at Tuvok's worried query. For anyone who didn't know him well, Tuvok wouldn't have sounded worried, but she'd known him long enough to know that tone anywhere.

"I'm fine, Tuvok. Something's nagging at me though. Something doesn't feel right."

"I don't know about "feeling right" Captain, but I do know that the crew dynamic won't be the same until we get Commander Chakotay and Lt. Paris back."

Janeway smiled. "That is true, Tuvok. But it's something else that doesn't feel right." With that she lapsed into silence for the remainder of the ride.

Once at the prison, time moved quickly. They met with the Warden who escorted them into the Section and down into the cells. For a backwater state in the desert section of their planet, the Section was modern and secure. Janeway was impressed with the effectiveness of how the prison was run.

They walked past twenty five of the cells, all filled with men and women who looked like they didn't belong. Janeway felt her gut clench. None of them looked like the hardened rebels that the Minister had told them about, or the prisoners that they had seen on the local information channel.

Cell Twenty-Six held a familiar face. "Tom!" She called.

The Lt. turned around. The relief was visible on his face as he walked towards the bars of the prison. "Captain! Boy, am I glad to see you." His face was dirty and his uniform torn in various places. There was a cut on the side of his head that had dripped blood down the side of his face.

"Are you alright?" Janeway asked as the Warden ordered the guards to open the cell. "Have they hurt you?"

Tom shook his head. "No. I went along peacefully. Some of the guys in here weren't too lucky." He stepped out of the cell which was closed behind him.

Janeway looked into the cell but couldn't see Chakotay. She turned to the Warden. "Where's my first officer? Is he in another cell?"

The Warden looked surprised. "We only have one foreigner here." He replied. "Didn't the Minister of Justice tell you?"

"Do your people have more then one 'Section?" Tuvok asked. "Perhaps he has been brought to another centre."

The Warden looked concerned. "I can assure you he is not in our Sections. We ran a search through our database, only your Lieutenant was collared by the officers. We keep very through records."

"If he's not here, then where is he?" Tuvok asked.

"Please. The Minister of Justice should be the one to address your concerns." The Warden said. He motioned for them to follow him out of the block of cells.

"Tom, what happened?" Janeway asked quietly as they walked along the passageway.

"There was a protest." Tom replied also in the same hushed tone. "I remember reading about them when I was younger. I was curious. Chakotay decided to go back to the market when the officers broke up the crowd." He lowered his voice. "Captain, you should see how they treat their prisoners. Over half on them in that cell has broken legs. No medical attention."

Janeway held up a hand. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Tom. We can't interfere with their justice system. How they choose to deal with protestors is their business."

"Yeah, but if Chakotay..."

"There is no reason to think that Commander Chakotay is in a similar situation." Tuvok said turning around the face them as they stopped before a security gate. "They have no reason to lie. If Commander Chakotay is not here, then we should assume that he has ended up somewhere not run by the Security Section."

"The only question is where." Janeway mused.

The gate buzzed and let them through as they followed the Warden out of the Section and to the transport that was waiting to take them back to the Minister.

"Tuvok, you and Tom go back to Voyager. I want you to scan the surface for any signature of a StarFleet comm-badge. We should assume Chakotay still has it with him." Janeway said.

"I will attempt to do so, Captain. However, the atmosphere of several continents will make it difficult."

"If anyone can find Chakotay, you can Tuvok." Tom encouraged.

"And Mr. Paris." Janeway turned to him. "Report to SickBay. Let the Doctor take a look at that cut. When your finished, meet me at the coordinates where the Chakotay disappeared."

"Where will you be, Captain?" Tuvok asked.

"I'm going to talk to Minister. Perhaps he can give more answerers then the Warden was inclined too." With a nod to the driver, she stepped inside the transport.

o0o

He was bored. It had almost been a week and Chakotay was ready to leave. He'd managed to keep himself occupied for the morning, but left his room in the late afternoon and wandered around the house. He kept pushing himself to walk further and further every single day, wanting to get better faster; no matter what Haja and Roland kept telling him.

"Your body will heal when it heals."

In the late afternoon, the house was quiet. The apprentices were either in town or out on house calls. Chakotay had leaned that they were the only healers for several small townships that lay outside the city. These were the only times where he had the complex completely to himself. Though, he suspected that someone was lurking in the background to keep an eye on him.

Since Haja had laid down the house rules several days earlier, he had been watched like a hawk. He'd decided to wait it out, play by their rules. There was something else going on here, something that they didn't want him to know.

He left the cane in the doorway and walked into the garden. He made for the bench in the corner of the garden. He turned the corner and was surprised to see Haja sitting cross-legged on the bench, book in hand. She looked up as he came into sight.

"I didn't mean to disturb you." He said turning to leave.

He heard her close the book. "No, please." She swung her legs to the floor. "Come, sit." He took her invitation and sat on the bench beside her. She placed the book on her lap. "I see that you are without your cane."

"Didn't need it." He replied truthfully. She studied the flowers for a moment before turning to him.

"I've been meaning to speak to you. You've been very mindful of our rules even though you do not understand. It is not typical for an..."

"A visitor?" He finished for her with a small grin.

She managed to return his smile. "Yes, for a visitor."

"Might I ask whom I'm hiding from if it isn't Security Services?" She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I'm locked in my room without any outside contact, I think an intelligent man would've figured out by now that you're hiding me from someone."

"Have you regained your memory?" Haja asked, tucking the book under her arm and turning to face him directly.

He nodded. "I think so. Most of it anyways. I remember the protest."

"Tell it to me." She said softly.

Chakotay took a breath. "A friend and I were walking outside the marketplace when a crowd of people rushed by us..."

"What's going on?" Tom asked stepping out of the way of the people that were rushing by him.

"I don't know." Chakotay said. "But I think we better find out."

They followed the crowd towards a large square. Their large group joined another thousand people that were yelling something, pushing to get ahead. Some were holding up black fabric in their hands and waving it above their heads, chanting.

"It's a protest of some sort." Tom said over the noise of the crowd. "I've read about them. We had quite a few back on Earth, but they disappeared when the Federation formed. This is incredible."

"Just don't let yourself get caught up. We're not here to change any political systems." Chakotay cautioned with a grin. "I'm going to head back to the market."

"Ok. You go. I want to watch." Tom said. He turned back to the crowd. Chakotay turned and threaded his way back towards the marketplace. A few minutes later, he heard a yell and turned back to see the crowd dispersing. Something was tossed a few feet away from him and with a pop, gas started to fill the crowd.

He looked for Tom, but couldn't see the other man through the crowd. "Tom!" He shouted. He touched his comm badge. It chirped negatively at him. Something was preventing communication.

People bumped against him, knocking him out of the way as the gas spread. It stung like hell when it hit his eyes and bit into his lungs. He coughed, reaching out for something to steady himself on. He blinked through watering eyes to see Security Section moving into the crowd. They were carrying batons and as he watched one of the officers swung his baton hard at the knees of one of the protesters. The crack of breaking bone and the groan from the man was enough to tell Chakotay how this planet handled demonstrators. Violence.

He turned away from the thick of the people just in time to see a raised baton come down. He twisted away and it smacked him across the lower back. He stumbled forward with the force of the blow. Another blow from the baton, this time in the side, sent him to the ground. His lower leg was stomped on by a heavy boot and then the baton shattered his knee. He had broken bones before but this was something that those previous experiences couldn't prepare him for.

Something hard hit him in the back of the head. There was another yell, something that sounded like a gunshot, a metallic clink, and searing pain in his abdomen. Then he blacked out…

Chakotay fell quiet as the memories were pulled into the surface of his consciousness. Haja reached out and placed her hand on his. "You are not there now." She gently reminded him before withdrawing her hand.

"What were your people protesting?" Chakotay asked.

Haja sighed quietly and the book returned to her lap. She tightened her fingers around the binding. "It is difficult to explain for some. Others find it simple, easy. They would say that because our government does not listen to us, then we must use violence."

"From what I saw your government doesn't take too lightly to being challenged."

Haja shook her head. "They are willing to hear us out, but those of my people whom have taken a more robust approach to things, they will not hear. My people are caught between two opposing forces, Chakotay; the government on one side and the rebellion on the other."

"And where do you stand?" Chakotay asked.

"Neither, and both." Haja sighed again and looked out past the garden to the desert. "I took the charge to become a healer to my people, to teach others how to be the same; if both sides ask for aid, both sides will have it. But having you here is forcing me to make a decision. You are only safe if neither side knows about who you are and where you come from."

"Because then the government would know about the rebellion soldiers that you are healing." Chakotay said. He shrugged when Haja turned to face him. "I have eyes and ears that work."

"They would take you and torture you for information. The other side would do the same to any rebellion operatives they would come across – no one would be safe and this place of healing would be compromised." Haja said firmly. "Chakotay, I have no idea what to do with you."

Her tone was frustrated. Chakotay didn't get a chance to respond as Dale came limping up, still recovering from a leg injury that had put him out of the rebellion's fight. "Haja, come quickly. Trenton is ready to pass to the outer world."

Haja gathered her skirts and stood. "Come." She gestured to Dale and the two went into the house. Chakotay followed slowly behind them as they went into one of the healing rooms. An elderly man was lying on the bed, and by the sound of his breathing, Chakotay didn't think that he was going to live longer then a few minutes.

Another young healing turned from the bed, face stricken. "I..."

Haja pushed past him and knelt down beside the low bed. "What is it, Father?" She asked using the word of respect for an elder in their culture.

Chakotay watched from the doorway as the elderly man took her hand and gasped out a few words. Haja beckoned the young healer forward.

"He wishes for you to receive the wealth of his knowledge, to pass along to his grandchildren. Are you willing to do this?" She asked quickly.

The young healer steeled himself and then nodded. "I am willing." He switched places with Haja and knelt beside the bed, taking the old man's hands in his. "Be at peace, Father. I will share what you have learned." The younger man leaned his head against the elder's. A minute later, the elderly man breathed his last breath.

The young man stood and bowed his head. Haja and Dale did likewise. All muttered something in a language that the universal translator couldn't translate. The elder's body was covered with a sheet and then all three of them left the room, walking past Chakotay.

He motioned, using the gesture for attention that he'd seen the others make, for Haja. She stopped. "What was that they did?" He asked softly.

"The elder passed on his knowledge, now the next generation will be able to have his knowledge and skills." She replied and frowned. "Your healers do not have this in your culture?"

"No. We generally shared knowledge in written or visual form." Chakotay replied. "But we didn't always have those, my ancestors used oral history to pass down knowledge."

"Pity; speaking is a lower form of remembrance." Haja said. "Many things are lost that way."

"I agree." Chakotay replied. A commotion sounded from bear the door, and the sound of wailing.

"Come." Haja motioned him away from the door. "The family has come. Dale will change your bandages and then when they have left, it is time for the evening meal. We will decide what must be done with you after this."

o0o

It was near dusk when Tom Paris materialized just outside the coordinates where he and Chakotay had gotten separated. The Captain was waiting for him, hands on her hips; watching the sunset beyond the temporary buildings that served as the marketplace.

The marketplace was empty due to it being so late in the day, but several people from nearby buildings could be heard talking and laughing from beyond their high fences.

"Captain." Tom said coming to stand beside his commanding officer.

She sighed. "The Minister didn't have anything to add to what we already know. His hope is that Chakotay is not with the rebels, but lying injured somewhere and someone's too afraid to turn him in."

"What do you think?" Tom asked after a moment. Neither prospect was pretty.

"I think that Chakotay is a resourceful man." She replied. "If there's anyone who can get out of a situation like this it's him." She turned to Tom. "Someone's whose been through StarFleet training and fighting with the Marquis doesn't quit easily."

"The protest happened over this way." Tom said pointing behind them towards the Southern States capitol building. Janeway turned to look at where he was pointing and then together they walked down the street.

Evidence from the protest was still visible outside the courtyard of the capitol building, fliers, bits of black cloth, dark spots that were starting to fade that both of them knew could only be blood.

Tom brought out his tricorder. "I'm setting it to scan for traces of Chakotay's DNA."

"Let's just hope that we don't find a comm-badge." Janeway said. "If we find it, we have no way of tracking him."

Tom nodded. "Tuvok's working on a way to enhance the scanners. B'Elanna's helping him." The tricorder beeped. "This way."

It only took them a few minutes to find what the tricorder had picked up, a large patch of dark red. Tom bent down and scanned the space. "There's just a small amount of his DNA here, nowhere near enough to be fatal. The rest belongs to someone else."

Janeway let out a sigh. "He's still alive."

Tom closed the tricorder and stood. "Yeah, but where?"

Janeway looked out across the desert that lurked outside of the city. "I don't know. But hopefully, he's not alone out there."


	3. Chapter 3

Chakotay sat silently on a chair as Dale quickly worked to change the dressing on his abdomen. Roland was out in the city, running his weekly rounds. Though Dale had been a soldier for many years with the rebellion, his leg injury had forced him to choose another profession. He'd guess that Dale's choice had to do more with Haja then healing, but the man possessed some skill that was clear to see.

"How the leg?" Dale asked, finishing up his work and stepping back.

"Fine." Chakotay replied. "A little stiff."

"You walk well enough." Dale said. "It is lucky that Roland found you as quick as he did." He placed the used bandages into a waste basket in the corner.

"Or I would have had a limp." Chakotay said quietly.

Dale nodded. "Yes." He rubbed at his leg. "Our medication works well when certain things are caught in time. It does not work as well when you sit out in the desert for a week before getting medical attention. I have seen more breaks then I care too, thanks to Security Services." He made an obscene gesture.

"Is that why Haja won't let me contact my people?"

Dale looked up sharply. "You speak of things you do not understand."

"Then help me understand." Chakotay pushed himself to his feet until he was standing level with Dale. "I want to make this easy for you. I just want to get back to my people and I get the feeling that you would like me to leave."

"It would be best for everyone if you were not here." Dale agreed. "But it is not simple, visitor. To hand you to Security Services would endanger everyone here, not just the rebellion members. And if the rebellion would known that we have an off-worlder among us, then we would all be targets for the information you carry."

"I carry nothing." Chakotay protested. "I have nothing that they would want."

"They don't know that." Dale replied firmly. "It would be best if your people came to collect you without support from the government, but your people are blind without a Minister to guide them and ignorant of the challenges we face in the Southern States."

"It is true; we are ignorant." Chakotay agreed. "But my people are resourceful. They don't need guidance from a Minister to conduct their own search for me."

"The longer you stay here the more you endanger the students, and my sister." Dale shot back. "They better come get you soon, visitor." He stalked out, leaving Chakotay behind.

Sighing, Chakotay walked out of the room and through the hall into the main compound. The great doors that lead into the large living space were open and a family bearing the body of the elder were just leaving. Chakotay caught the eye of one of the younger men and was shocked to see not grief, but anger in his bright blue eyes.

Then the family moved through the door and out into the desert night. Haja turned away from the door as some of the male students barred it closed for the night. The door must have been a signal as the rest of the students came out from the various halls that lead to the sleeping rooms, healing rooms, and bathing chamber.

"Come. Let us eat and remember our elder." Haja said beckoning them all, including Chakotay into the dining room that was adjacent to the main compound. "We also must all decide what is best for Chakotay. He is ready to leave us."

o0o

"I have managed to can all of the surface of the planet except for two areas." Tuvok announced. The mood on Voyager was somber as well. All the senior staff were sitting around the conference table, touching base before heading off for some sleep.

Janeway and Tom were the quietest of them all, but the captain forced herself to lean forward and look at the screen. "The southern most states." She said quietly.

"The scan will take longer to complete there because of the atmospheric conditions." Tuvok finished.

"Yeah, it's also the place that the Minister keeps telling us the rebels are hiding in." Tom said. "There's no way they're going to allow us to search for Chakotay there."

"We should have the scan completed by late afternoon tomorrow." B'Elanna said. "The comm-badge should be pretty easy to pick up, if it's there that is."

"Oh, it has to be there." Janeway said. "We've scanned all the rest of the planet – no sign of the commander. If the Minister were holding Chakotay, I don't think he would have let Security Service hold him in a state controlled by the rebellion. No, there's something else going on here that we're missing. Some link or faction that we haven't been told about yet. Someone's not talking and I intend to find out who it is. Tuvok."

The Vulcan turned to Janeway.

"You have until the scan is complete to come up with a plan to get Chakotay off that planet. Wherever he is being held, I don't want Security Section or the Minister of Justice coming with us until we know what's going on here. That's everything. Dismissed."

o0o

The evening meal was one of the quietist that Chakotay had attended while staying at the healing centre. There were some laughs, some jokes, but for the most part everyone just ate. His stomach wasn't feeling the meal and he recognized it as nerves. He had made halfway through his bowl of stew when a frantic knock came at the front door.

One of the male students went to answer it while the rest carried on with their meal. This was nothing new and the apprentice on call would deal with whatever emergency had come their way. A few minutes later, the apprentice returned with Roland in tow and behind them were seven other men, five of which were armed.

Mutters and shocked gasps from the other apprentices followed Roland and the other young man into the room. Haja stood from her place at the head of the table.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" She demanded, her hand making the sign for annoyance. "This is a place of healing."

One of them men shoved both Roland and the other apprentice into the empty chairs at the foot of the table. One of the men without a weapon spoke. He was tall, muscled and carried himself with deadly grace, a soldier.

"We don't wish to hurt anyone." He made the sign for calm and the tension in the room lessened slightly. "We have come for the off-worlder." He turned to look at Chakotay.

Chakotay put his spoon back into his bowl and stood. Some of the men brought up their weapons. "What is it that you wish to know?" Chakotay said, using his hands to make the sign for peace.

One of the other men sneered at him. "He even talks like us, Captain, uses his hands. Infiltrator." The accusation was leveled against him. The man in charge eyed him, sizing him up. Chakotay looked back at him.

"I know that you are fighting for the freedom of your people." Chakotay said. "My people are visitors to this world, we don't wish to get involved in your war against the government."

"You take aid from that same government." The captain replied without malice. "That same aid could be used to care for the people of this State, this nation. The government would rather give it away, or feed already bloated bellies of the rich, then share with those who need it most."

"What do you want?" Chakotay asked.

"I want to ask you some questions, and I need the answers." The Captain replied. "Tobias, stay here and watch the apprentices. They should behave for you. Sydney, please take the off-worlder and the healer into the next room. I might be in need of her services."

The room exploded into motion as Dale stood up from the table. "You will not touch her." He ordered the soldier nearest him and Haja. "I will do what it is that you wish."

Haja made the motion for calm, but the captain merely smiled. "You are not experienced, Dale, or I would have. You were a good solider. Sydney."

Dale was forced back into his seat as Sydney took Haja's arm and pulled her towards Chakotay before giving them both a shove towards the main compound's living area. The rest of the soldiers minus Tobias followed them.

Once in the main living area, Chakotay was tied to one of the hard wood chairs and Haja was escorted to a nearby cushioned couch. The Captain stood in front of Chakotay.

"There's no need for this." Chakotay said. He wondered what Haja was doing there, one of the reasons that crossed his mind was that maybe the captain wanted a healer present in case his 'questions' got too out of hand. "I'm not a threat to you."

The captain made the sign for apology. "I know. But the government has ways of sneaking Security Services among us until we don't know who is our own and who is the infiltrator. I have no doubt that they could've taken advantage of the fact that they have new allies to help them. They would not injure someone from their ranks, but an outsider… we don't know your ways."

"My people are not ones for schemes and tricks." Chakotay replied. "I got caught in the riot several days ago. Haja offered me sanctuary until I recovered from my injuries."

"We must be sure of that." The captain motioned. "Healer, please."

Haja stood from the couch and walked over to them. When she came into view, Chakotay saw that her face was pale and there was a tremble to her lips.

"This is asking me to go against my charge." Her voice was still firm. "I cannot do it."

"You cannot do this?" The captain asked. "This is for your people, Healer; for your freedom. You will deny your people freedom?"

"This is not for freedom." Haja replied angrily. Her voice shook with emotion. "This is for information, for intelligence that he does not have."

The captain responded violently, shoving Haja to her knees and pointing a weapon at her head. "You will do this, Haja!" He yelled. "Or you will forfeit your life!"

Haja shook and tears ran down her cheeks, but she didn't comply with the threat. The captain let her go after a moment without a word. His lips tightened and he stepped away to confer with the other soldiers in the corner of the room. One of them kept a sharp eye on both prisoners.

"Do? Do what?" Chakotay asked. Haja didn't reply. "Haja, what are they asking you to do?"

Haja raised her head with a shaking breath and knelt down in the sand in front of Chakotay. "We can pass on knowledge from one person to another, but we can also take it; taking it means that the person will no longer have it."

"They want you to take the information from me." Chakotay said in understanding. "But you don't know what you're looking for."

"Which means that you would be left without any knowledge. Chakotay..." Haja crept closer to him. "You must give them something, anything."

"I can't give them what I don't know." Chakotay said.

The captain came back over and Haja climbed to her feet. "Please, sit there, Healer." He ordered. Haja moved out of Chakotay's line of sight. "We will try this the old fashioned way." The captain said. "Does the Minister know where we are?"

"I don't know."

The first blow came lightening fast from behind; pain exploded along the side of his torso. The guard had punched him from somewhere behind. He couldn't see the blows coming and so he couldn't prepared himself.

Again came the questions and again the answer; he didn't know. Truly, he didn't and he wondered how long it would take them to figure that out. Twenty minutes in and Chakotay knew that by the end of this, he was going to need a healer again.

The questions stopped as one of the other's guards came back into the room. The conversation happened behind him and Chakotay didn't know what was going on until the chair was roughly turned around.

Two soldier carrying something came into the room. "Do you still refuse now, healer?" The captain asked.

A low moan came from Haja as the body of Roland was dumped in the middle of the room. Chakotay yanked on the bonds that held him tight. This wasn't fair, why was it always because of him?

"Every time you refuse, the body of another one of your students will join us." The captain told Haja. "Make your decision."

Anger burning a hole in his chest, Chakotay spoke. "You are a brutal people, how can you say you fight for peace when you are willing to murder your own people?"

"You cannot talk to me about peace!" The captain said turning to his prisoner with anger. "Your people know nothing of war! If you don't know war, you don't know peace."

"I've seen war and plenty of it! Your people call me a soldier and it's true, I've fought. I've seen other races do things that would make your skin crawl." Chakotay spat the word as he thought about the Cardassians. "There are men in my people's history that were so savage and brutal that we almost didn't survive as a race. Don't tell me I don't know about war. You know nothing about my people."

The captain walked over to him. "Then tell me about your people. Tell me something that I can use to help my people. Tell me!" He was practically begging by the end and Chakotay saw him for who he was; a man trying to save his people and doing it the only way he knew how, violence.

"I know nothing of what the government is doing." Chakotay answered. "Please, believe me when I tell you this."

The captain leaned back. "I cannot."

Chakotay raised his chin. "Then I request that Haja search my mind and tell you that I'm not lying."

The captain eyed him and then laughed in disbelief. "You willingly consent to this? Do you not know what happens, off-worlder?"

"I do."

"Well then." The captain motioned. "Healer, please; grant this man's request."

Haja stood from the couch and walked over to them. The captain placed a chair in front of Chakotay and Haja sat down. Chakotay looked at her. "It's alright. You're not going to hurt me."

"You don't know that." Haja replied.

"Haja, do it for your apprentices." Chakotay said. "No one else has to die today because of me. Please. I don't know how you do it, but look for anything regarding my meetings with the Minister or any other government official. I don't need it."

"Alright." Haja bit her lip and then reached out. She placed her hands on either side of Chakotay's head, thumbs resting just above his ears. "Think about what you want me to find." She drew their heads together and then closed her eyes.

Chakotay couldn't help the noise that escaped his lips. It was like stepping into a rough transporter beam. He was falling, flying, and spinning all at the same time. He shut his eyes tight and tried to make the nausea stop. Something itched, pushed and he shoved away from it.

 _STOP._ Something ordered him. _DON'T FIGHT. RELEASE YOUR MEMORIES TO ME._

It wasn't a voice but he caught the meaning and he knew that he was communicating with Haja. He forced his thoughts to relax. He thought about Voyager, and the crew. His thoughts started to drift towards their first mission. The memory was starting to turn fuzzy, like someone was slowly drawing a cloth over a dirty window.

Something yanked him away from those memories and he snapped back into the present as Haja spoke to him again. _DO NOT SHOW ME THESE THINGS. YOU WILL LOSE THEM. THINK_ _!_

He did and suddenly he was back in the Minister's office several days earlier…

o0o

The house looked nothing like Tuvok had thought when preparing his scenarios, but he had prepared for that. After the scan had showed where the commander's comm-badge was located, it was a simple matter of determining whether or not the commander was still alive. The idea had been brought up of trying to contact the commander using the comm-badge, but he'd advised against that particular action.

He looked back at his incursion team which included Tom Paris and four other security officers. The captain would have come along if she could, but Tuvok always appreciated that she knew the correct action for a captain to take. He noticed that several of the officers were already sweating in the dry, desert evening. He also realized that his forehead was slightly wet.

He had been spending too much time in space. He would need to run the desert holo-program more often. His body was becoming accustomed to the weather humans preferred. The tricorder scan showed seventeen people within the compound, several of which were armed.

Tuvok put all other thoughts out of his head and he stood and moved towards the house. The other officers took up places to the side of the door. Tuvok used the smallest setting on his phaser to cut through the wooden bar holding the door in place and then nodded to his team.

They shoved open the doors and quickly moved into the house. They caught two armed men by surprise and quickly stunned them into submission. More officers lead by Tom Paris moved into the hallway that lead to another room where most of the people were gathered.

Tuvok turned his attention to the rest of the large room. Five more people were gathered around two chairs front facing each other. He could see the back of a man and the face of a woman. Weapons fire drew his attention away from the seated couple and towards the three men who were shooting back.

The team took cover and returned fire, quickly all three men were unconscious on the floor. "Move in." Tuvok ordered and then team went forward towards the sitting area. Commotion came from the other room where Tom Paris's team had gone into, but Tuvok didn't pay it much mind as he had finally realized who the seated male figure was. It was Commander Chakotay. The commander looked like he had been beaten. Tuvok frowned as he look at the odd position the commander and the woman were locked into. Neither of them had moved during the firefight.

One of his officer's reached out to touch the commander. "Wait." Tuvok ordered. "We don't know what we are dealing with here. Please, remove those men outside." The officer nodded and went to comply.

Tuvok studied the two figures more intently and reached for his tricorder. There was unusually high brain activity for both of them. "Commander?" Tuvok asked. "Commander Chakotay? Can you hear me?"

The noise behind him became louder as the group from the other room was escorted into the living area. Tom Paris pushed his way through them and came to a stop beside Tuvok. "Chakotay?" He asked.

"Alive." Tuvok replied. "Though he seems to be engaged in some sort of mind meld. Who are all these people, Lieutenant?"

"Oh, these are students. Apparently, this is some kind of healing facility we've walked into. Maybe one of them knows what is going on."

"Perhaps. Though we may have to wait until one of our prisoners wakes up to get the answers we need." Tuvok said. His tricorder beeped at him and Tuvok looked down to see that the commander's brain activity had spiked. There was something happening in his short-term memory...

Tom Paris reached out to touch the commander. Tuvok glanced up sharply, but he didn't have to say anything.

"Wait!" One of them men pushed his way forward and made a sign with his hands. Tuvok recognized the sign for concern. "You cannot touch them. Not until one of them pulls back into the waking world."

"What happened?" Tuvok asked. If they had been on Vulcan, a mind meld would have been his first hypothesis. But there was no need to force a mind meld unless it was for extraction of information. "Was the commander being interrogated?"

"Yes." The man sighed. "He would not tell them what they wanted to know."

"How can he?" Tom interrupted. "Chakotay doesn't know anything about this planet."

"What is your name?" Tuvok asked, holstering his phaser. There was no need for it here.

"Dale." The man replied. He made the sign for greeting. "You are one of the off-world visitors. His superior."

"No. I am merely an officer." Tuvok replied. "Please, tell me more about what happened to the commander. But first, I must confer with a colleague of mine." He touched his comm-badge. "Tuvok to the Doctor. I am in need of some medical advice."


	4. Chapter 4

o0o

4

The edges of the Head Minister's outer office were blurry, but Chakotay realized that the less he focused on them, the clearer they became. "Pretty place, huh?" He remarked as turning to Harry Kim, and Tuvok beside him.

They were the first of their crew to beam down to the planet after spending several weeks in orbit negotiating the trade treaty that would allow them access to the planet below. Chakotay was referring to the red and gold wall tapestries and engravings along the pillars. Everything was lush and rich with color on this planet, or the little they had seen.

"The engraving work clearly has been done by hand." Tuvok said, craning his neck to look above them. "I wonder what the metal is composed of."

"Something precious that's for sure." Harry chimed in. His hand moved away from his hip where the tricorder was supposed to rest. They had left them behind on request. "Could be gold, or something like it."

 _THINK FURTHER AHEAD._

Chakotay looked around the room for the voice that had spoken. But they were the only three that stood in the outer office. The desk was empty in the corner by the door.

 _WHAT DID THE MINISTER SAY TO YOU?_

Suddenly Chakotay found himself standing in a small, but still ornate office with a plump, colorfully garbed man that could only be the Head Minister. The man was looking at him, looking for an answer to some question that had been asked.

"I'm sorry?" Chakotay said.

Tuvok stepped closer to his side. "The Minister was just telling us that they have several tons of supplies that they can give us in exchange for star charts of this region. He wishes to know if this is still an acceptable offer."

Chakotay nodded. "Yes. Absolutely. We are more then happy to provide you with the information you need."

The Head Minister made the motion for agreement. "Excellent. We will start the transfer process as soon as possible. In the meantime, your people are more then welcome to come to the planet. We have many markets that are open for trade."

"I'll talk it over with my captain." Chakotay said with a smile. "Thank you, Minister."

The Minister made the motion for thanks. "No, thank you Commander."

o0o

"Doc, are you sure this will work?" Tom Paris glanced at the hypospray in his left hand uneasily. "I'm not a doctor, but I know that messing around with any brain chemistry isn't good."

It had been almost thirty minutes since Tuvok had told the doctor the situation and the situation the Doctor had come up had been surprisingly easy, and fast. The hypospray the Doctor had beamed down felt heavy in his hand.

"From what Commander Tuvok has told me, we have no choice." The Doctor said, his voice coming through the comm-badge. "From these readings you sent me, Commander Chakotay is losing parts of his short-term memory. The only way to stop it from continuing is to separate them. Though the Commander doesn't like to hear it, I've managed to use this to successfully mimic the chemical reaction that Vulcan's use when leaving a mind-meld."

"Doctor, I would appreciate it if you would cease talking about Vulcan biochemistry in such a trivial way." Tuvok said from the other side of Chakotay's still figure.

"It's not trivial." The Doctor replied. "Besides, I'm a doctor; not a damn PR person. If you want someone to be culturally sensitive when someone's memory is dying, try calling a counselor. Now, Lt. Paris; are we ready?"

"Yeah. Here it goes." Tom let out the air he had been holding and reached out to inject Chakotay. He stepped back and waited. He didn't have to wait long for a reaction.

o0o

The ground shook and pieces of the walls fell onto the carpet. Chakotay looked up from the PADD he had been holding containing pieces of the star charts that they were transferring to the central access computer. The team he'd brought with him including B'Elanna and Harry continued working like nothing was wrong.

He set the PADD down on the table as another rumble came from underground. He reached out to steady himself.

 _I'M LOSING YOU._

The ground continued to shake and then walls started to crumble. Then people and objects started to disappear, one, by one, they vanished until just Chakotay was left in the crumbling room. He was thrown to the ground violently and covered his head with his hands as the room fell in around him.

With a jolt, Chakotay was suddenly in pitch darkness. He looked around and found himself face to face with Haja. "I'm losing you." She said again.

He blinked and then her hands were on his face. She leaned her forehead into his and closed her eyes. "Something is pulling you back." She gripped his head tighter. "I have to..." She released him and he went flying backwards.

He hit the ground with a thump, the chair backrest digging into his back. He looked up at the rough wooden beams of the ceiling in the main living area of the healing house. He realized that sometime between Haja letting go and falling that he had came back into the real world.

He also realized that Tom Paris and Tuvok were staring at him with concern faces, or at least Tom's was concerned. He heard the beep of a tricorder.

"Commander?" Tuvok asked. "Are you alright?"

Chakotay managed to nod. "What happened?" He asked. Tom and Tuvok reached down to help him stand up and he took their hands gratefully. He didn't know if he could've stood up by himself.

"Apparently, you were locked into some kind of mind meld." Tom said. He motioned with his chin. "With her."

Chakotay looked over to see Haja who was currently enveloped in a hug by Dale. She looked pale and tired, but gave him a little smile over Dale's shoulder.

"Care to explain what happened, Commander?" Tuvok asked with a raised eyebrow. Chakotay could have sworn there was a smile somewhere there.

"It'll be in my report, Commander." Chakotay said quietly. He looked around the room which included several Voyager security personnel as well as the students. "What happened to the captain?"

"What captain?" Tom asked looking around the room.

"Their leader, they call him the captain." Chakotay said.

"Oh. We left them outside under guard." Tom replied. "A couple of them have some… interesting things to say about this whole situation."

"They're rebels." Chakotay said. "They've killed people tonight." He looked over at the body of Roland that was still lying on the floor where they had thrown it.

"We will take care of him." Chakotay looked up as Haja spoke. She stood from her chair and walked over to him. She motioned some of the students over and the three students wrapped Roland up in a blanket and carried him into one of the side rooms.

"We will inform him family tomorrow." Haja said. She sounded tired. "There has been enough for tonight."

"Tom, Tuvok, this is Haja. She's the one who kept me alive."

Haja nodded to the two officers and gripped Dale's forearm tight in one hand while making the sign for greeting with the other. "You are Chakotay's people?"

"Yes." Tuvok answered. "We owe you a debt of gratitude for taking care of the commander."

"I am a healer. It is part of my charge, visitor or not." Haja said looking at Chakotay. "I only hope that this situation will not provoke anymore attacks from Security Section on the Southern States."

Chakotay could read what was written in-between her words. "I think I can help with that." He said.

o0o

"Are you sure about this?" Chakotay asked in concern. They were standing outside the Head Minister's office where the council was meeting today. They had agreed that it would be best for them to beam into the building instead of being stopped at the doors.

A crisis on Voyager had taken the Captain and Tuvok's attention for the moment and Chakotay had found himself alone with Haja. She nodded and adjusted the scarf around her neck. "I speak for my people." She told him quietly. "I do not matter. This is for them." She reached out and took his hand. "Thank you for helping me."

"Thank you, Haja. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

"For Roland." Haja gently corrected him, letting go of his hand. "If he hadn't been out walking that day. He'd lost a patient. It upset him."

"He was young." Chakotay agreed. "Too young to be killed."

"There are children being murdered because of this conflict." Haja reminded him. "Because of you that won't happen anymore." She made the sign for goodbye. "I am glad to have met you, visitor."

The Captain and Tuvok rejoined them. "Everything alright?" Chakotay asked.

The Captain nodded. "Yes. We're fine. I'll tell you about it later. Everyone ready? Good." She touched her comm-badge. "Janeway to Voyager. Four to beam to coordinates. Energize when ready."

o0o

A moment later, and the transporter beam enveloped them and when they remerged, they were standing in front of the main chamber doors.

"Wait here." Janeway ordered Haja before walking to the doors and throwing them open. She didn't have to wait long to be acknowledged.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Head Minister asked, standing from the head of the table where he had been sitting. All the other men and women in the room were several of the other ministers from different departments. All heads turned towards Janeway. Chakotay and Tuvok were the only ones who had accompanied her.

The Head Minister made the sign for shock when he realized who Chakotay was. Janeway had decided to let Chakotay continue wearing his native clothing.

"Where did you…?"

"Find him?" Janeway finished for him. "In the Southern States, but you already knew that did you, Minister? Just as you know that the rebels are hiding out in the Southern States and that you are punishing the innocent people that live there just to you can say to your own government that you are making progress with destroying the rebellion."

"I… don't..." The Head Minister wavered, making the sign for confusion.

"Don't say anything, Head Minister." The Minister of Justice warned. His hands weaved an unknown pattern.

"We know about the Sections, the raids, and the fear tactics that your soldiers use to keep the people in line." Chakotay said. "The only reason I am alive today and able to walk without a limp is because someone made the choice to help me."

Murmurs started in the room as the Ministers realized what Chakotay was talking about.

"Now we are not here to judge you." Janeway continued. "We have a policy not to interfere in the affairs of other worlds and I intend to keep that policy. But I do believe that you should hear this from someone a little more qualified then the two of us. I have with me a young lady that would like very much to speak to you." Janeway beckoned Haja into the room. "She was the one who choose to help my officer, risking discovery by both Security Section and the rebellion."

Haja slid her blue scarf off her head and onto her shoulders. She raised her chin and made the sign for respect. "My name is Haja; I am a healer and I speak for the people of the Southern States."

"You mean the rebellion." The Minister of the Justice said. He rose to his feet. "Everyone in the room is aware of where the rebellion is hiding, and they are hiding within the Southern States. The people in the Southern States are guarding them, hiding the very people that want to destroy their freedom."

"It is true that the rebellion is hiding in the Southern States, that is no secret." Haja said drawing the attention in the room back to her. "But what is a secret is that very little of the population agrees with the tactics that the rebellion is taking against the government."

She glanced around the room, daring someone to challenge her. "I ask to be recognized as a citizen, spokesperson, and community leader; that is my right. My first request to ask that the council hear me out and decide for themselves."

"No." The Minister of Justice said firmly. "We don't want to hear any more lies from rebellion sympathizers."

"Sit down, Raymond!" The Head Minister ordered. The Minister of Justice looked taken aback and he sat down in his chair quickly, but the Head Minister wasn't done. "I have heard rumors of your orders to Security Section to behave brutally, maybe even more brutally then the rebellion has. I wish to hear the Healer speak. She has the authority to do so."

The Head Minister nodded to Haja and also made the sign of respect. "Please forgive us, Healer. One more formality if we may… Minister of Health?"

The Minister of Health stood and there were tears in her eyes. "Yes, Head Minister. She is fully certified and a community leader."

"Well then." The Head Minister looked around the table. There were no more objections. He looked at Janeway and Chakotay. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Captain. I assume our trade negotiations are closed?"

Janeway nodded. "Yes, Minister. The remaining supplies have been transported up to my ship and I have word from my team that your star charts are are loaded into your central computer access core. There is one more small matter about some rebel leaders we have as prisoners."

"Prisoners?" The Minister of Justice said in interest.

"They are currently being guarded by some concerned citizens." Tuvok said. "I don't not think they will be going anywhere soon."

"And I wish to negotiate regarding their sentence." Haja said firmly, ignoring the Minister of Justice and addressing her remarks to the Head Minister.

"Excellent. We have much to discuss." The Head Minister looked around the table. "Now, if there are no more interruptions… We shall hear what the Healer has to say." He retook his seat and motioned Haja to the one at the foot of the table.

o0o

 _Captain's Log:_

 _We have finished transporting and storing the last of the supplies we have traded for on the planet Etera and are continuing on our course home. Commander Chakotay is also back with us after almost being killed while in the midst of a protest on the planet's surface. I look forward to reading his report on the whole situation after he gets some rest; and sees the Doctor._

"And that's when I realized it would be better for me to give up a few memories rather then having a blood bath on my hands." Chakotay finished.

He and Kathryn were walking towards the Infirmary and he had been telling her about what had happened on the planet. Both of them were looking forward to getting some rest considering that none of them had slept the night before.

Kathryn looked at him sideways. "So you really don't remember anything about your time on the planet?"

Chakotay shook his head. "No. Why? Is there something I need to know?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Nope." She walked away from him towards the turbolift and stepped inside. "If I were you I'd stay away from those 'meats' that Neelix acquired. Apparently, you're allergic."

"I'm allergic? How'd I find that out?"

She made a face. "Better if you don't know. The Doctor's waiting for you in the Infirmary. I'd like him to give you a full physical before you come back on active duty."

"Is that an order, Captain?" Chakotay asked with a grin.

"You bet it is." Kathryn replied, returning his grin. "And it's damn good to be giving you orders again, Chakotay. I was afraid I was going to have to promote someone."

"You mean Tom." He replied.

"There's potential there." She agreed. "But he lacks the kind of good judgement that my current first officer has. Apparently, he is an excellent judge of character. That's why I choose him."

"I'm sure he doesn't take that for granted." Chakotay replied quietly. "Good night, Captain."

"Good night, Commander." Kathryn said stepping back to let the turbolift doors close in front of her.

The End


End file.
